Erin reports that this summer is off to a great start. She has been staying up late and sleeping in, except the days she gets up early enough to come to the Athletic Club with me. She's been filling her social schedule and manages to hang out with friends most every day. If she had a driver's license and a debit card, she might not even need me around!
Our summer so far feels like such progress from those dark days this winter when Erin was struggling. She has worked hard to figure out what makes her happy and to process her grief, so she can move forward. Erin may have explained this best herself.
During the book reading event in St. Paul, we had a question and answer segment. During that time, Erin rose from the front row to join me and Dan in front of the crowd. A question came asking when we started to feel better, or what helped us turn the corner and move beyond the early grief. Erin offered her take: "Acceptance. Learning to accept what happened to us." That's a succinct description of a very difficult process. Things can always change, and that's OK, too, but for now, Erin is in a good place.
So today, in between dropping Erin off and picking her up, I had a couple of hours to kill. I swung by the Barnes & Noble at the mall just to see if they happened to have Determined to Matter in stock. I have to admit, my heart fluttered a bit when I saw it displayed on the shelves. There, right next to a book about Barack Obama, is a book about Shannon O'Hara. Wow.
As I made my way to the service counter, I found a second display of the book. Right there on the service counter, Determined to Matter is displayed for all to see. I introduced myself to the store manager, and thanked her for giving the book a prominent place. She was so glad I stopped in, and asked me to sign a few copies so that customers can have that added touch. I was happy to.
This book project has been such a journey for me, and to see it on a shelf in a store is pretty gratifying. I hope it's just the beginning. (If anyone knows, Ellen DeGeneres, Matt Lauer, or Robin Roberts, give me a call...)
In all seriousness, signing copies of the book is an honor. Each time I get to share the book with someone, I think of it as one more person that's going to get to know Shannon. It's one more chance to keep her spirit alive.
As long as people are interested, I'll keep signing...
